Kurdish leader calls on PKK to lay down arms

“As long as the bombings and armed conflicts persist, a solution is harder to reach. Both sides must appreciate that violence is not a solution. The state must take steps other than violent means. I believe that the PKK will abandon violence if the state adopts such an attitude,” Ahmet Turk, DTP leader, was quoted as saying by daily Sabah.

The PKK has been targeting city centers recently and the result is scores of killed or wounded civilians and security forces in Istanbul, Mersin and Izmir. The attacks intensified after Aug. 15, the founding date of the outlawed organization.

Turk also warned against sentimentality in the closure case against the DTP, which faces accusations of abetting the terrorist organization and demanded participation in the National Security Council, or MGK, the highest military-civilian body in the country, as well.

“The Kurdish problem can be solved through dialogue and with democratic steps. If we are called, we will participate in the MGK. We received the cold shoulder ever since we arrived in Parliament. The government must heed our call,” he said.